Walking the halls of the Fira last week and one thing became immediately clear: AV, broadcast, IT and creative production are no longer operating in isolation. Across ISE 2026’s eight halls and seven expanded Technology Zones, convergence was visible in how solutions were presented and discussed – aligning with the way systems are now being designed, specified and deployed in real-world projects.
The most obvious expression of that convergence was in the evolving broadcast-AV crossover. Broadcast-focused areas were more prominent this year, with Hall 4 dedicating a significant proportion of its space to broadcast-related solutions. As ISE managing director Mike Blackman noted, this is not about broadcast “joining” AV, but about broadcast changing itself as it adopts tools, workflows and technologies long familiar to the AV and live-experience worlds.
That shift was easy to see on the show floor. Virtual production, in particular, featured heavily, with LED volumes, real-time rendering engines and compact camera systems presented as alternatives to traditional studio builds. The emphasis is on flexibility: smaller footprints, faster turnaround and environments that can support multiple formats, clients and use cases in rapid succession, rather than remaining tied to a single production.
Creative production represented another important convergence point at ISE 2026. Spark, ISE’s new cross-vertical initiative built around a 1,000sqm arena, brought together media, gaming, live events, experiential marketing and design studios around shared tools – from real-time graphics and LED environments to immersive audio. Spark speaks to a professional audience that increasingly spans broadcast, AV and creative technology within the same organisation or project team, rather than operating in neatly defined silos.
Underpinning these developments was a burgeoning focus on software, AI and cybersecurity. AI was visible throughout this year’s programme as a practical tool, supporting monitoring, automation and optimisation across broadcast studios, collaboration spaces and smart buildings. Cybersecurity, meanwhile, now treated as a basic requirement for connected systems globally, was highlighted by the launch of ISE’s first dedicated CyberSecurity Summit.
What was apparent on the ISE show floor last week was that a shift is already underway beyond the exhibition halls. Technologies and workflows once associated primarily with broadcast – including virtual production – are now being specified for corporate and enterprise environments, from in-house studios to immersive experience spaces. As those use cases expand, AV, broadcast, IT and creative production are coming together because projects increasingly demand it. In that sense, ISE is mirroring, perhaps even helping to drive, how systems are already being designed, deployed and used in the real world.
You can access our special AV/broadcast convergence eBook, releasesd ahead of ISE 2026, here.
